1. Field
The present disclosure relates to a maintenance system and, in particular, to a method and apparatus for maintenance planning for products. Still more particularly, the present disclosure relates to a method, apparatus, and computer usable program code for identifying external maintenance discrepancies.
2. Background
In planning for maintenance of products, a number of different processes may be present. When the product is an aircraft, for example, computer based maintenance planning tools may aid in the planning process by integrating regulatory requirements with emerging maintenance needs to help calculate the time required to perform the many tasks necessary to keep the aircraft in airworthy condition and compliant with federal regulations.
Time for conducting post-flight maintenance is lost between the time an aircraft lands and the time the aircraft reaches the ramp from the runway. Increased turn around time due to maintenance requirements is more likely as the maintenance inspection time is lost while an aircraft is taxiing. Visual health inspections are time consuming and human endurance for lengthy, repetitive inspections induces failure rates for detecting anomalies. The human eye is also limited in spectrum and may have difficulty seeing certain types of fluid leaks.
Accordingly, it would be advantageous to have a method and apparatus which takes into account one or more of the issues discussed above as well as possibly other issues.